SHOP OWN­ERS WILL FIGHT ON

PLENTY of good is tak­ing place to ex­tin­guish the bad rep­u­ta­tion of Mt Druitt’s Daw­son Mall and in­crease safety in the area.

But many con­cede there is still a long way to go.

The Stan­dard headed out to chat to shop­pers, com­mu­nity groups, busi­ness own­ers and those just hang­ing out dur­ing the Thurs­day night late trade.

There was singing and danc­ing, free food stalls and sausage siz­zles, but be­hind it shop own­ers live with graf­fiti, shoplifters and bin fires – and make clean­ing urine from their shopfronts part of their daily rou­tine.